Post Game, Post Hell
by AuraChannelerChris
Summary: HEAVY DARK DAWN SPOILERS! STOP READING THIS! Sure enough, Matthew's journey around Weyard was kind of easy, but boy was he wrong when he thought it would stay easy all the time...


_In celebration for the release of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, and all the people back there at Golden Sun Realm, I have decided to write a humor fiction about the game's extra super bosses. I hope all Golden Sun fanatics have a nice time reading this mini-fic till the end._

_I encourage all Golden Sun fanatics to read on, enjoy, and review. :)_

* * *

**~Post-Game, Post-Hell~**

**Chapter 1: Star Magician**

-Tonfon-

Capital

A normal dawn shone down on the peaceful, Chinese-esque (or was it Japanese?) nation of Tonfon. In a lone chapel close to the edge of the city, there came out nine people who looked extremely confused as to why they were in there in the first place.

"Can anybody tell me when did we end up all the way here?" Tyrell asked. "I have no idea how we ended up in Tonfon. Hey, Rief, do you know?"

Rief rubbed his head. "I-I don't know," he said. "I'm fairly certain we were somewhere else…"

"I think we were climbing up the Endless Wall," Sveta said confused. "But…how could we get here?"

"Remember? I recall we saw that Arcanus guy buying us time to activate the Apollo Lens," Eoleo said.

"…Really?" Sveta questioned. "Well, I think you're right, but something about it isn't just right."

"What? But that's what I can remember!" Eoleo argued. "You calling me crazy?"

"Pirates are often unreliable when it comes down to information," Amiti said. "You, my supposed friend, are a pirate. Therefore, your mind could be playing some tricks on you."

Eoleo looked upset. "Well, shirtless princes can act pricky," he said.

"I shall let that comment slip by for now," Amiti said.

"Stop," Kraden said. "This isn't the time to be fighting among ourselves. May I remind you that the world is in the verge of its destruction thanks to the Grave Eclipse?"

"Yeah," Karis said. "We should be racing towards the Apollo Sanctum instead of wondering how we ended up in Tonfon. I personally don't want to sleep at night while looking out for dark spiders."

"We get it, but…this is very odd," Sveta said. "What could happen if we went back to the Apollo Sanctum and…well, we end up back here again? I'm a bit scared."

Eoleo looked at Himi. "Third Eye girl, do you have any leads?" he asked.

"I'd wish that you'd stop calling me that," Himi said blankly. "Just because I am the Third Eye wielder, it doesn't mean you have a right to give me a nickname like that."

"Sorry. Anyway, got any explanations?"

Himi shook her head. "Sadly, I don't know any possible explanation."

"I knew that Third Eye was gettin' rusty."

"(How did they accept an adult into their ranks again?)" Himi wondered.

Karis looked at Matthew. "Matthew, you're the leader here. What should we do? Ponder and wait for our deaths under the eclipse, or charge into the Apollo Sanctum now?"

Matthew rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Before he could say anything, Amiti stepped forward. "If I may say something…I'd like to do something else before we head for the Apollo Sanctum," he said.

"What is more important than saving the world to you?" Tyrell asked.

"Well, the area the eclipse has covered reached almost all of Angara. Ayuthay is under its malice," Amiti pointed out. "I would like to visit my uncle and see that my people are doing fine. After all, we never got to go there save for Champa."

"But if we went right to stop the eclipse, we would free Ayuthay and the entire world from chaos," Sveta said.

"I know, but…I'm feeling homesick," Amiti said. "Can we go there, please? It's a little detour. And, who knows, we might get something from there that could aid us in our quest." He turned to Eoleo. "I'm not implying we should plunder anything from there, so don't get any crazy ideas behind my back!"

"Geez! I swear having a prince sleeping ten feet away from me is like having the Ayuthay Nation's Royal Guard ready to slaughter my butt!" Eoleo complained. "What was all that about owing your life to our pirates?"

"You're misunderstanding. I owe my life to your father, NOT you," Amiti said with emphasis. "Wherever your father went in that coffin in the sea, I wish him to be at a better place. You should thank me that I respect your predecessor."

No one else but Matthew noticed a rather destroyed coffin floating close to Tonfon's shores. Matthew could have sworn that he saw that coffin somewhere else before, but his doubts were soon answered when he saw a white beard hanging out from a hole, but nothing else inside. The coffin had apparently been attacked by sea monsters, eating whatever was inside of it except for a helpless beard. Suddenly, Matthew felt seasick.

"In any case, can I request going back to Ayuthay?" Amiti asked.

"Hmm, yes. I'd honestly like to learn a bit about Ayuthay's culture a bit more," Kraden said. "Very well. We're heading out for Ayuthay."

"Leave it to Kraden to go through hordes of monsters for the sake of research," Rief said.

Karis looked back at Matthew, who looked a bit sick and pale. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "Oh no. Rief, Matthew needs you here."

After healing Matthew from his seasickness, the group set out for Ayuthay, fighting bravely against the hordes of sea monsters in the sea.

-Ayuthay-

Pond

The group of nine made their way through the eclipse's darkness, reaching the pond that separated them from Ayuthay's underground city. The creepy atmosphere that lingered around the air made the pond look like some sort of swamp. Thanks to that, Amiti felt ashamed. It didn't help the fact that there were rotten soldier corpses lying around.

"Eoleo, I swear to Anemos. If I hear you singing one more time during another voyage, I'm going to set some of my Djinns on Stand By to summon Thor and crush you," Karis complained.

"You haven't heard how pirates sing!" Eoleo complained. "From where I come from, everyone sings along with me!"

"Yes, and that made it worse!" Tyrell complained. "Your crew is the worst singing crew ever!"

Eoleo laughed playfully. "You guys are going to hear another song soon! We Champan Pirates know a great amount of 'em!" he said. "Ain't that right, Sveta?"

"What?" Sveta asked. "Did you say something?"

"Of course I did! Didn't you hear me?"

Rief sighed. "Eoleo, you're not going to believe this, but Sveta here tried her best to tolerate your singing that she eventually fell…deaf," he said embarrassed. "She happens to have an acute hearing, but you did the impossible and made her go deaf."

"Nah, she's surely playing a trick on me," Eoleo said. "Isn't that right?"

"What?" Sveta asked.

"ENOUGH!" Karis blared out, forgetting the fact that shouting would attract any dark monsters. "We can't be talking here with all the monsters waiting to ambush us. We need to cross over the pond."

"Or what I thought it was a pond," Amiti said. "This eclipse makes my home look like a swamp, and these corpses... They're sickening. I'm going to request some proper burials so that we don't anger the souls of the people who died. Karis, if you would be so kind, can you take us across on the raft?"

They all stared at the rather small raft floating over the pond (?) while the eerie wind shook it a bit. Before, five people would be good enough to move across, but nine people was just asking them for trouble to sink down. "Ugh, we're too many," Tyrell said. "Karis is going to have to do some trips back to transport all of us to the other side."

"I'm a man of action, sorry," Eoleo said.

"What do you mean?" Himi asked.

Eoleo grinned and rubbed his palms together. "I sail the sea all the time. I can swim across this pond just fine," he said.

Tyrell thought for a moment. "Hey, I can do that too!" he said.

"What? Are you two going to swim in there?" Kraden asked. "It's dangerous. We don't know for certain that there are monsters in the water as well!"

"I don't remember any aquatic monsters in the water when we were here," Tyrell said. "C'mon, it's gonna be fun! Besides, it's going to give us some time before land monsters get us!"

"You two are suicidal maniacs in my eyes," Amiti admitted. "I knew Eoleo was one, but Tyrell? That is a new one to me."

Tyrell rolled his eyes, as he and Eoleo stood in front of the marsh-looking pond. "We're strong enough to fend off some bites, unlike any of you," he said. "Eoleo and I are the muscles of the team."

"'Meatheads' is a more suitable term," Amiti said.

"I'm not wasting my time with Mr. Prince. You can all probably travel by that raft," Eoleo said, while the other seven stepped on the raft, which managed to hold on to their weight just fine. "Alright, let's do this!" he said, diving into the pond together with Tyrell while the other seven calmly skimmed over the water thanks to Karis' Whirlwind.

"Ayuthay is going to be glad to be the first generation to have dead people in its waters," Amiti said. "And at the same time, our same waters will be polluted by their blood for the next generations."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic," Rief said. "I'm sure they'll be fine. They're strong."

"They're strong physically, but that's about it," Karis said. "Matthew here knows Tyrell more than me. What can you say?"

Matthew smiled a bit, until he saw a multitude of bubbles floating to the surface of the pond behind them. If memory served him well, Matthew recalled that the bubbles' spot was positioned right on the spot where Tyrell and Eoleo had dived down…

Inn

"Impossible. They're still alive?"

"Wow, they're durable."

"And to think they would get their skin ripped out, it's an actual miracle come true!"

"…"

"I want to admire them for their bravery, but their foolishness is a big glaring point."

"I wouldn't have predicted this outcome at all."

"They're their parents' children, alright…"

The prince pirate's eyes slowly opened where he found himself lying down on a bed. "W-what's going on? W-where am I?" Eoleo asked. He turned his head around to see Himi, Rief, Amiti, Matthew, Kraden, Karis, and Sveta standing around his bed, together with Tyrell who had woken up to a bed next to his.

"You're in the world of the living," Amiti said. "In a more specific way, you are sleeping in Ayuthay's inn, coincidentally next to my uncle. Don't bother talking to him. He is resting."

Eoleo sat up, just to see some bandages covering his arms and forehead. "Man, what happened to me?" he asked.

"The pond you two dove into had some nasty-looking piranhas that instantly went to eat you alive," Karis said. "Fortunately, Matthew here warned us before you could REALLY die, idiots! We were so worried!"

"In fact, you've been unconscious for five days," Kraden said. "We were just arranging your funeral!"

"WHAT?" Eoleo asked shocked before glaring at them. "What kinda friends are you, believing I was already dead?"

"Eoleo, Kraden is pulling your leg," Rief said. "You have been here since yesterday."

Eoleo grunted and slammed his head on his pillow. "Well, don't joke like that again."

"We won't if you don't do something so foolish as to dive into a pond full of piranhas," Amiti said.

"I get it, water boy. Eoleo plus pond equals death by fishes," Eoleo said sighing.

"It's a good thing Sveta recovered from her deafness after you were prey of monster piranhas," Rief said.

Kraden furrowed his brow for a moment. He was glad Eoleo and Tyrell were okay. "We have already checked on the people of Ayuthay and their wonderful Alchemy Well," he said. "I must say, doing research in this city is truly a dream come true! The architecture! The relics! The customs! The past! Th-"

"I believe we all get the point," Himi interrupted.

Kraden blushed slightly. "Oh, my bad. I got carried away," he said. "Shall we head out for Kaocho after Tyrell and Eoleo get better?"

Tyrell sat up from his bed. "Wait, we're heading for Kaocho next? I thought Amiti just wanted to drop by here!"

Amiti looked ill. "We didn't plan to go to Kaocho with the eclipse, but… I happened to stumble upon something while you were unconscious," he said. "Remember the two Kaocho generals we defeated? They broke out from the city and escaped outside just when the Grave Eclipse appeared. We went to search the area to see if there were any survivors, but we found more corpses…including theirs."

Sveta shuddered. "They…they were beheaded," she said.

"But other than that, Sveta sensed something in their souls thanks to her Spirit Sense Psynergy," Karis said. "Sveta, can you tell them?"

The female lupine nodded. "When I stood close to their corpses, I used Spirit Sense to find out their last words. What I found out was that they had hidden a note in Kaocho that told about a treasure they were hiding as a secret," she explained.

"Treasure, huh?" Eoleo asked interested. "I take it we're gonna hunt down some treasure?"

Karis looked upset. "I really oppose to the idea, but we thought that the treasure they were trying to hide could be of some help to us," she said. "Better go prepared than unequipped, right?"

"Alright!" Tyrell said. "I love looking for treasure using maps!"

"The bad thing is that we need to go back to Kaocho, though," Amiti said.

"Pfft, what could be so bad about going there?" Eoleo asked.

-Kaocho-

Gate

Unlike Ayuthay's underground city, Kaocho didn't fare too well against the eclipse. The streets were filled with rotten corpses of unfortunate people that were prey to the dark monsters. If watched from the gate, the scene itself would look like a freak accident full of nightmare fuel. The mere sight would even sicken Rief.

"My goodness," Himi muttered. "This is horrible…"

"So many corpses…so many people…" Kraden trailed off. "This is a fine example about the consequences of the Grave Eclipse."

Amiti lowered his head. "I'd never wish this nation to perish in such a way," he said.

"There isn't much time to fret for all the people now," Rief said. "We need to find that map those generals hid in the city."

"I remember them saying that they hid a note three steps west of the palace's stairs," Sveta said. She sniffed the air only for her to back away instantly. "I-it's no use. All the corpses pollute the air so badly."

"Who needs noses?" Eoleo asked. "Let's do this the old way. A pirate like me has got the instinct to look for treasure."

Since there were dark monsters, the group decided to stick together while looking for the note left behind by the generals. It was after crossing a gap with Grip Psynergy that they found a crack next to the palace's stairs. From said crack, a note was sticking out. Rief carefully pulled it out to read its contents.

"What does it say?" Karis asked.

"_This shows a pirate treasure's location. Coming from the south, go west when you reach a reef shaped like a hand,_" Rief read. "Cryptic, I must say."

"Isn't that great?" Amiti asked. "Those generals were sure careful about the details."

"The note does mention a reef shaped like a hand," Kraden said. "If we want to find that treasure, we need to sail the sea."

Eoleo grinned wide. "Okay, time to go back to my dad's ship!" he said, hopping down the ledge to reach the stairs. He looked up at the others. "Let's find that treasure before another pirate does!"

Matthew nodded and used Grip to get to the other side of the stairs. He then proceeded to run all the way back to the entrance from behind the wall.

Sveta looked back and forth between Eoleo and Matthew. "Wouldn't it have been easier if Matthew just jumped down like Eoleo?" she asked.

"We Adepts are that handicapped," Tyrell said.

"Right, we are…" Amiti muttered, rolling his eyes.

-Eastern Sea-

Perhaps the most annoying point in their voyage to look for the treasure was the fact they didn't remember spotting a reef shaped like a hand before. By that time, the group could easily beat any sea monster that jumped on board (though most of them agreed that the land monsters, save for the eclipse monsters, were easy to beat). They all were used to sailing around the western sea, and the view from the deck was surely astonishing.

What wasn't astonishing was Eoleo's singing pirate voice.

"~Fifteen bottles of Vials on the wall, fifteen bottles of Vials! Take one down, pass it around, fourteen bottles of Vials on the wall! Fourteen bottles of Vials on the wall, fourteen bottles of Vials! Take one down, pass it around, thirteen bottles of Vials on the wall!~" Eoleo sang while steering the wheel, with his crew singing along around the boat.

The singing pirate never noticed that the deck behind his back was empty of any foreign guests. The pirate crew was so enthralled into their song that no one noticed the Adepts and Kraden rushed inside the ship to save their poor ears from becoming deaf.

"Why, oh why can't they shut up?" Amiti asked.

"Champan pirates believe they're the best while they're clearly not?" Rief responded.

"Yup, that explains a lot," Karis agreed.

"My ears…" Sveta muttered.

"A better question for us is why we need ears," Himi said.

"Ahoy, we found ourselves a reef shaped like a hand!" Eoleo yelled out.

Between the crazy cheers from the crew, the Adepts and Kraden rushed back outside. And sure enough, a huge reef shaped like a hand was right in front of the boat. "Sweet, we found it!" Tyrell said. "Nine agonizing days of singing were hell, but thank god we found it!"

Himi turned to the west. "Now we need to head west until we find…something," she said.

The people turned towards the west where the huge dome of darkness of the eclipse lingered. The pirate crew grew dead silent, not wishing to go into the dome of absolute death. "…Isn't there some island outside the dome of absolute death?" a random pirate asked.

"Nope, we're heading right into it," Eoleo said, steering the ship to the west. "Men, my friends in lust for revenge, get ready for the worst!"

Matthew put a hand on the Sol Blade's hilt. "You know, there are much worse things than what Eoleo was talking about," Tyrell said.

"What is one of those things?" Amiti asked.

The silent teen knew what Tyrell was talking about. He simply pointed at Eoleo.

"~Do what you want, 'cause an Adept pirate is free! YOU ARE AN ADEPT PIRATE! Yar har, fiddle di dee. Being an Adept pirate is alright to be! Do what you want 'cause an Adept pirate is free, you are an Adept pirate!~" Eoleo sang playfully.

As soon as they could, the Adepts and Kraden rushed back inside the ship, hoping not to hear any chorus by the crew of pirates. They were fortunate, as the very same pirate crew was paralyzed of horror for going back into the eclipse's shadow.

A few hours later, not soon after entering the supposed dome of absolute death, Eoleo kept signing joyfully despite the fact the ship had entered a freaky cloud of purple mist that made sight impossible to look farther away from the deck. He kept going westward, optimistic that treasure was near.

"He is aware that his singing will attract monsters, right?" Karis asked.

"Suicidal maniac, I'm telling you," Amiti said. "I'm just saying."

-Lost Ship-

Deck

"I can't believe we made it here without any monsters ambushing us," Rief said. "I thought Eoleo's singing would make them attack us."

"If anything, his singing actually kept them at bay," Tyrell said. "Eoleo, your singing is useful for something after all!"

"Truthfully speaking, fighting monsters is much more productive than killing our hearing," Sveta commented.

"Are you guys telling me I suck?" Eoleo asked.

"Wasn't it obvious enough?" Amiti asked.

"Git over here, you Ayuthay Pun-"

Matthew merely covered Eoleo's mouth so that he would shut up. The silent teen wished Eoleo to stay silent, but it would be an impossible feat to accomplish. As for actual events, the group had arrived at an abandoned ship hidden in the thick mist of darkness. The deck was beyond repairs and it eerily managed to stay afloat, more of a reason to call it a ghost ship.

"Here we are, standing in the middle of nowhere on a lost ship," Karis said.

"I wonder what that treasure is about," Rief said. "What could a pirate ship hold?"

"Singing pirates?" Tyrell asked.

"I heard that!" Eoleo yelled.

"Shh! We need to be quiet while we're exploring this ship," Karis whispered. "I want to come out of here unscathed. Judging how old this ship looks like, I bet that treasure might be very valuable or very rusty, and I'm hoping it's the first."

Tyrell stepped forward onto the old wooden deck. "What are we waiting for? Let's goOOOOOOOO!" he let out a yell soon after the old wooden floor gave up thanks to his weight. The Adepts and Kraden looked down into the hole until they heard Tyrell breaking something on the bottom part of the ship. "Oww!"

"Tyrell, are you okay?" Rief asked.

"Did you make a hole in the ship?" Amiti asked.

"Nah, I'm fine! Besides breaking some bones…" Tyrell trailed off.

Karis turned pale. "D-did you break your back?" she asked.

"Not those bones! There are dead pirate corpses all over the place and I fell on 'em!"

Everyone else sighed in relief. "Well, stay there! We're going to get you out of there!"

"Hurry up! I-I just discovered I dislike seeing so many bones!" Tyrell whimpered.

"Hush, you big baby!"

Exploring the ghost ship was actually not that big of a deal for the group. After getting to Tyrell, they explored the ship more until they reached the (dead) pirate's cabin, where the captain's corpse lied on top of a dusty bed. Curious, Sveta used Spirit Sense on the corpse.

"What can you find out?" Himi asked.

Sveta turned to the group. "The captain was wondering how his other crew was faring in another isle called Crossbone Isle," she said.

Amiti rolled his eyes. "It's typical of pirates to go to places where danger is secured. That isle's name screams problems," he said.

"Hmm, but I'd like to find that isle," Karis said. "His mates are surely dead, but we're Adepts. We can go through any obstacle with two Adepts for each element."

"Karis, I thought you would be against the idea of even thinking about going to such a place," Amiti said.

"If this ship's treasure turns out to be very valuable, don't you want to find more of it in that so-called Crossbone Isle?"

"Our chances for survival are high," Himi said. "I agree with Karis with her notion."

"Ho-ho-ho! You all certainly remind me of your parents!" Kraden said. "(I've been blessed with the chance to explore more dangerous areas to find more lore about long lost ancient civilizations! I hope they don't think I'm taking advantage of their Adept skills…)"

Eoleo looked bored. "I haven't found any valuable treasure 'cept for that staff bookworm here got," he said.

Rief looked upset at the pirate prince. "At least I got rid of that Hagbone Mace at last! Slamming the earth to call forth a stalagmite is really tiring!" he complained.

"I'm selling our new loot in the next town we arrive."

"No you won't!"

Karis sighed and turned to Matthew, who then turned around and pointed at a door. "Hmm? Oh, there's one last place to explore on the ship," she said. "Let's take a look on that last past before we leave."

Following the green-haired Adept's suggestion, the group went to a solitary area of the ship where there were only a few set of bags and nothing else. "Nope, nothing here," Tyrell said. "We searched the ship completely and there wasn't anything valuable."

"Except my new staff," Rief retorted.

"Hmm, maybe that staff of yours will be a high seller somewhere…"

"Oh, not you too, Tyrell!"

While all the rest of the group wanted to go back, Matthew couldn't shake the feeling that there was some kind of presence in the area they were standing on. Before his eyes, a figure appeared, making him fall back. His fall made everyone turn to the general direction, gasping at the figure before them.

"Holy crap!" Tyrell yelped. "It's a ghost!"

"N-nonsense! Ghosts d-don't exist!" Rief said frightened.

"Um, there are ghost type monsters out there…" Himi pointed out.

"You never noticed? Rief always hid behind somebody whenever we fought ghosts," Karis said.

Rief shook his head. "T-that's a lie! I-I was just unprepared those times, that's all!"

The ghostly figure in front of them appeared tangible. They then could tell the figure was some kind of purple-clothed magician with pale blue hands. The pointy hood he wore made it impossible to see his darkened face, with yellow glowing eyes staring at their way.

"Never mind, it's just an old-fashioned magician guy," Eoleo said.

Kraden tilted his head. "Hmm, haven't we met before?" he asked. "I have a vague memory about you…"

Sveta shook her head. "Can't you feel it? There's a powerful energy coming from his very soul…" she muttered. "It's…unnerving."

"Agreed," Himi said. "He is perhaps the strongest person we have ever met before."

"I am the guardian of water. My name is the Star Magician," the figure introduced. "If you would claim my power, you must prove your worth."

"Wait, you want to fight us?" Karis asked.

"I see no other reason for you to be here," the Star Magician said. "Would you prove your worth, yes or no?"

"I have a better question! What kind of power are you holding?" Eoleo questioned.

"The power of Azul," the Star Magician said. "Those who can finish my challenge will be allowed to call forth Azul into battle. Azul is one of the most powerful summon entities in Weyard's existence."

The group made a circle. "The offer is very tempting," Amiti admitted.

"We haven't gotten a new summon ever since we got Coaticlue," Rief said. "This is a chance we need to take."

"Summon entities would greatly help us in any incoming fights," Himi theorized.

"Yeah, and he did say that Azul guy is powerful," Tyrell said. "I wanna feel the power my dad possesses!"

Karis smiled a bit. "Our parents could summon powerful entities when they were younger. Just think about what we could do with them!" she said excited.

"Any new summon would be certainly helpful in our quest," Sveta said. "But this Star Magician person…he makes me feel frightened."

"The only frightening thing about him is its dark face," Eoleo said. "So, are we fighting or not?"

"…" Matthew nodded.

The group turned to the Star Magician, as they all brandished their weapons. "We're ready to fight you for Azul!" Rief said.

"I would have attacked you even if you said no," the Star Magician said. He called forth a blue orb over his left hand, and some oddly-colored balls appeared out of nowhere. "Let us begin."

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Eoleo laughed. "We've got axes, staffs, big*ss swords, and claws, and all you can use are floating balls?"

"Your words shall perish soon, foolish idiot."

"Not in this life!" Eoleo said with a wide grin before letting out a crazed war's cry. The group charged forward while Kraden watched from a safe distance as the battle unfolded on the shi-

-Tonfon-

City

A normal dawn shone down on the peaceful, Chinese-esque (or was it Korean?) nation of Tonfon. In a lone chapel close to the edge of the city, there came out eight people who looked extremely confused as to why they were in there in the first place.

"Um…what happened this time?" Tyrell asked. "Weren't we fighting the Star Magician and his balls?"

"Tyrell!" Rief yelled.

"What?"

"Honestly, you're sick!"

"What do you mean?"

"Enough!" Karis yelled. She was irritated that they somehow appeared in Tonfon. "Alright, what happened back there? I remember we were fighting the Star Magician and those ba-I mean, those spheres before we suddenly appeared here in Tonfon…again!"

Kraden walked out from the chapel. "Thank goodness you're all alive!" he said. "It was a rough trip coming back to Tonfon after that battle you had!"

"Would you mind enlightening us?" Amiti asked.

The old man looked away. "How do I put this… Right when you charged into the fight, the Star Magician and his…um, spheres exploded on you. I recall they were all red," he explained. "You were felled rather quickly in battle. Fortunately, Eoleo's crew came in after I ran back for help (and I fell in three holes on the way back to the ship)."

The eight stared shocked at Kraden. "…And can I ask why we didn't go to Harun Village since it was the closest place with a chapel?" Himi asked.

"Er… I have no idea why," Kraden said embarrassed. "I was somehow forced to take you to the last chapel we visited."

"…" Everyone did a Matthew move by falling silent, finding no reasonable explanation to Kraden's logic.

"…You sure you didn't want to buy souvenirs with our money?" Eoleo asked. "Tonfon's got nice things to buy."

"As if!" Kraden said upset. "I don't know why, but I was forced to take you here! Is this how you thank me after dragging you out from the eclipse? My life was in danger with all of you unconscious!"

"There, there, no need to get so worked up," Karis said. "We're thankful you pulled us out in time, Kraden."

Kraden felt relieved. "Why, thank you, Karis. As always, you're so sweet," he said.

Tyrell crossed his arms. "What now?" he asked. "Do we go back and fight that Star Magician guy or do we go to the Apollo Sanctum?"

"We need to get our hands on Azul," Rief said. "If that summon is powerful, we can put it to good use for Blados and Chalis at the Apollo Sanctum. They won't stand a chance against a strong summon."

"I ain't gonna let some mage and his freaky Technicolor spheres get the better of me again," Eoleo said upset. "Now he's done it!"

"We know where the hand-shaped reef is. It shouldn't cost us a lot of time now," Himi said.

"It's all decided?" Kraden asked before nodding. "Good, you kids don't give up so easily. I'm proud of you."

Matthew rubbed his chin. He somehow was forgetting something that was going to be tedious about going back to the sea. His doubts would be soon answered.

-Eastern Sea-

While a jolly pirate crew kept singing along the whole trip towards the hand-shaped reef, the only people with common sense were hiding inside the ship.

"I realized something, guys," Tyrell said.

"What, that Eoleo will never get into his thick skull that we would like him to be mute forever during ship voyages?" Karis asked.

"No, I realized life isn't worth it."

"…Tyrell, you can lower your sword now," Rief said. "Tyrell, you can put it away from your throat."

"LIFE ISN'T WORTH IT!"

A struggle to keep Tyrell from committing suicide began inside the ship. As expected, the singing crew never knew what was going. They were too busy singing (supposed) pirates' songs.

-Lost Ship-

Deck

The Star Magician had no idea why one (Tyrell) of the nine people in front of him was badly damaged with a black eye and some kind of large scratch across the face. "Do you wish to prove your worth once again?" the magician asked.

"Oh yes," Amiti said. "We are prepared for the battle, unlike last time."

"Very well," the magician said, calling for his…um, spheres into the open. "Begin!"

Instead of rushing forward to the battle, the group merely stood there, nodding to each other. In a blink of an eye, the lost ship shone brightly with different-colored lights until a plethora of entities rained down upon the poor old vessel, eradicating anything harmful to the group on the ship. Chaos ensued in the vicinity of the sea until, after a few minutes the group was shown standing there on the same spot, while a gasping Star Magician was unconscious on the floor.

"You…have proved…your worth…" the Star Magician said, disappearing in thin air.

-Eastern Sea-

For once, Karis resorted to threats by threatening the crew from singing one more time. "And we got a nice powerful entity in our bag, thanks to the great strategy I thought up," Tyrell said.

"Honestly, this 'summon rush' strategy is totally cheap," Amiti commented. "I feel that no experience was gained out of this."

"That is odd. I did feel we gained experience," Himi said shrugging.

"Who cares? We won!" Eoleo said cheerfully while steering the wheel. "We need to do it again on those Tuarapang generals if we stumble upon 'em again! They're in for trouble for taking my old man away from me!"

Kraden shook his head shamefully. "I know overusing summons is a good strategy, but don't let the power get over your heads. Somewhere in the world, an enemy is bound to take advantage of that strategy," he lectured.

"Ha! That's funny!" Tyrell said. "There's no monster out there who can take advantage of our strategy, MY strategy! Yup, I'm a genius, I know."

"Wish you could have been one when you flew the soarwing," Karis muttered angrily.

Sveta smiled a bit. "We can finally proceed to the Apollo Sanctum at last, then," she said. "I'm so glad everything went well nevertheless."

Amiti sighed. "I hate to break up the happy atmosphere of the ship, but we're in for more trouble than we thought we wouldn't have at all," he said, pressing his brow.

"What do you mean?" Rief asked.

"Why, our pirate friend is so distracted from the steering wheel of the ship that we're heading straight towards a menacing-looking tornado that is about to kill us for real," the aggravated prince said. "But don't look sad. It was nice knowing you and the world, who especially wants me DEAD!"

Eoleo blinked and turned forward in front of the ship. Sure enough, a huge tornado was heading their way. "HOLY HARD NUTS!" Eoleo yelped, along with everyone who started screaming bloody murder by a sea tornado.

And the tornado reached out for the ship and swept it away to an unknown direction.

**THE END…NOT**

* * *

_They're not dead…yet. There are more perils that will kill them physically and even mentally. You can tell by now what the next chapter will be about._

_I encourage all singing pirates to review. :)_

…_Or Tyrell will find no meaning for his life._


End file.
